No bail for Winnipeg man in child-porn case

A Winnipeg man who admits to sexual fantasies involving young boys will remain in jail following his recent child pornography arrest.

Luke Brandon Neumann, 27, was arrested earlier this month and charged with possessing and distributing tens of thousands of images of children as young as five engaged in explicit sexual acts.

He applied for bail last week, then returned to court Monday to learn his fate. Provincial court Judge Tracey Lord denied Neumann’s request. No trial dates have been set. A ban was requested by his lawyer, meaning Lord’s reasons can’t be published.

No such court order was in place last week when Crown prosecutor Bruce Sychuk opposed the release, arguing Neumann described himself to police as a "boy lover," whose daily sexual fantasy is to make love to a young boy.

Neumann came to the attention of authorities in the U.S. in May. They alleged he was uploading images of young boys to the Internet.

American authorities contacted the National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre in Ottawa, which contacted Winnipeg police, who then executed a search warrant at a residence on Portage Avenue Neumann shared with a roommate. He was arrested July 4.

Defence counsel Kristee Logan had argued Neumann could be released on strict conditions, which include living with his father in B.C., a cash deposit of $3,000 and a surety of $5,000, and agreeing to take counselling.

Sychuk said following his arrest, Neumann admitted to police to possessing tens of thousands of still and video images of boys, whose age ranged from five to 14.

Sychuk played a 20-minute excerpt of a police interview, where Neumann can be heard saying he loves young boys and would never hurt them, adding he used images as a substitute to fulfill his sexual fantasies.